The next day, after I woke up early, the system was flashing a notification window once more to wake me up. I had been grumpy when it went silent yesterday without informing me whether I had accomplished my mission or not. I was looking forward to the rewards, but it appeared that there were no rewards.
So I assumed I failed the mission somehow. Perhaps the mission objective of defeating the army of prehistoric type spirit beasts required me to annihilate them completely? That sucked.
Fortunately, the system wasn't so stingy. As I rubbed my bleary eyes and put my glasses on, the blurry message resolved into good news.
-Quest completed. The following reward will be issued: Fossil Restoration Device. It will be placed in the user's dungeon. –
"…huh? Fossil Restoration Device?" I repeated incredulously. Why the hell would the system award me a Fossil Restoration Device? It wasn't as if I had any fossils…yet.
Oh. That meant I would be getting a few fossils shortly. I had recalled how I wanted to collect a Giga Rex of my own, as well as those cool looking Armored Carids. But I supposed I wouldn't have a chance to steal any from Ricowen. Apparently, the best way of obtaining them was through reviving them from fossils? How did that even work?
And where would I even begin to find a fossil in the first place?
The system had glowing arrows pointing outside of the hut that my friends and I were accommodated in. Taking good care not to disturb them in their sleep, I snuck outside to stare at the shadowed silhouette of Springwood in the dark. Even before the sun rose, I could see the faintly illuminated frames of wooden huts arranged nicely and almost naturally amongst the cluster of trees that had grown along the length of the branch.
There were so many wonders throughout the world, and the elvish enclaves in Yggdrasil counted among the most beautiful. I had seen quite a lot of sights – the incredible vista of Atlantis at the bottom of the ocean. The majesty fury of Huo Yan Valley, with its rivers and lakes of lava flowing around a rocky island where a human settlement had been built into. The gloomy yet ethereal environment of Spectral Forest. And now the wondrous World Tree with its own naturally grown and elegantly sculpted cities of elves, surrounded by forest and other aspects of nature.
It made me feel overawed whenever I thought about the vast planet that we currently lived in. And yet this was only the tip of the iceberg. I was certain that I would end up visiting yet more places in the future.
Shaking my head and reminding myself to focus on the present, I glanced around carefully. Most of the elves were still asleep in their huts, having worked hard to restore their damaged homes and make preparations for the mass funeral in a couple of days. I was a little guilty that we wouldn't be around to attend the funeral, but there was nothing we could do about it. For one thing, the elves had insisted that the burials would be a private affair, and for another, we were on a tight schedule. Other elvish enclaves needed our help, and we had to scale the World Tree as quickly as possible.
The appearance of Ricowen and the spirit beasts under his command had reinforced that urgency. And I didn't know what other enemies lay in wait for us.
"Oh, aren't you Song Jun Wen?" An elf just happened to be exiting his house to take in the fresh morning air when he spotted me sitting on a ledge and staring at the horizon, waiting for the sun to slowly rise. I turned to him and bowed my head in greeting, recognizing Hammond the old elf. He smiled brightly.
"Yeah, hello, sir."
"Ah, good morning. And there's no need to address me as sir." The elderly elf smiled and leaned on his oak staff. I got off the wooden patio to see if he needed help, but Hammond waved me away. "I'm about to go on a walk and check up on the saurian spirit beasts. You want to join me?"
"Sure, if you're fine with it." I nodded. Hammond chuckled. Unlike the other elves, he was ancient. His once blond hair had turned snow white, and he had opted to grow a beard and mustache, even wearing glasses for some reason. And a matching white hat that complemented his white suit.
"Of course, otherwise I wouldn't have invited you. I enjoy visiting their habitat, sometimes just to watch them live out their own lives. They are the real rulers of the forest here, and we are only allowed to build a small enclave here because they allow it. The saurian spirit beasts operate on their own terms. We do call upon them for help sometimes, but as allies, not as servants. They live freely, unpoliced and undisturbed until the time comes for them to assist us in war."
"Yeah, they were incredible yesterday," I said, recalling the elvish riders on their saurian steeds charging into the fight with fury.
"We have been friends for generations," Hammond explained. "We treat spirit beasts as equals and take care of them. That's why I visit them as I would an old friend. Dropping by to say hello, talk to them, and see how they are doing. They might not look like us, but they are still very much part of our huge family."
"Nice." I nodded, impressed.
"There has been an exodus of spirit beasts, though. As you can see, the branches of the World Tree are big, but not that big. So when the population sort of exceeds the sustainability of the branch, a good number of spirit beasts will migrate somewhere. Sometimes, a few elves would accompany them, but of course, we tend to avoid human civilizations. We prefer forested areas far from any urban areas. Alas, I am too old to move from Yggdrasil, but I imagine an exciting adventure awaits those younglings who dare embark on the exodus to the greater world."
"I understand." I tried not to be amused when a word popped into my head. "Do you call those elves Exodites?"
"Huh?"
"Never mind." Of course, Hammond wouldn't get the reference. But still, dinosaur riding elves was a pretty cool concept. I never imagined I would get to witness them firsthand. "Shall we go?"
"Of course."
I followed Hammond into the forest. The sun was finally just peeking over the horizon and bestowing its gentle rays upon the branch, and all the trees growing along its length were soaking the sunlight gratefully. As leaves spread out, I watched the saurian spirit beasts stir to life. Thunder Lizards and Titan Lizards striding to submerge their gargantuan bodies in the huge lake that had filled up a colossal crater in the branch. Trumpet Lizards also moved in herds, their tube-like crests stretching across their heads, and they moved to the shore to drink from the lake. Iguana Dinos grazed nearby, along with slowly moving herds of Twig Turtles, Grove Turtles and Terra Tortoises. Cranium Dinos and Rampart Dinos galloped to a clearing, with large groups of males facing off in headbutting contests to impress the spectating females.
"Dr. Song," Hammond said. "My dear Dr. Myria. Welcome to Springwood."
I could hear an epic theme song playing in the background for some reason, but I waved my hand in annoyance. "Uh, Myria isn't here."
"Isn't this the moment where you should say, 'they're moving in herds. They do move in herds.'?"
"…dude…" I sighed and shook my head. "How did you do this?"
"I'll show you," Hammond whispered conspiratorially. "But before that, I believe you have something you want?"
"Huh?" I stared at him, but the elderly elf simply chuckled and gestured forward before he walked with the help of his oak staff. I followed him, and it wasn't hard to keep pace because he was a little slow. Nonetheless, he managed to stop by a clearing where a herd of small saurian spirit beasts were grazing. I stared at them in wonder. They were about half a meter tall, had green and yellowish skin and a brown shell from which a twig with twin leaves sprouted from. They looked up at me with cute features before returning to their meal. "Twig Turtles?"
"That's right." Hammond nodded before he sat on a fallen log to catch his breath and rest. Placing both hands on the top of his oak staff, he looked up with a smile, his blue eyes twinkling. "An entire herd just about to leave. Food is growing scarce for them because there's a bit of an overpopulation, and I don't think the forest in Springwood can sustain them for long, especially since a good number of them are about to grow."
"Oh? So they are among those saurian spirit beasts that are about to embark on an exodus?"
"That's right. But these being the little ones, they might not possess the strength required to survive such a dangerous journey. And so I thought that maybe you might have a home for them."
I stared at him silently, and he chuckled.
"Oh, I don't profess to know exactly how your…summoning mechanic works. But I've seen your spirit beasts, and they don't look like any other summoned creatures. I suspect you actually have a real home for them somewhere, from which you summon them to wherever you are. A place where they can grow safely, live happily and develop. As I said, I don't know the details, but I can tell that it's a lovely environment just from looking at your summoned spirit beasts. That's why I wish to entrust these children to you. I'm sure they will benefit more under your charge than migrating to the wilderness on their own."
"If you are all right with me," I began uncertainly. Hammond shook his head vigorously.
"I am definitely all right with you. In fact, you're the only one I can trust with this."
"Okay." I stepped toward the Twig Turtles cautiously. At a glance, I could see that there were about fifty of them. As I thought, the system flashed many windows.
-Would you like to make a spirit contract with this Twig Turtle? –
-Would you like to make a spirit contract with this Twig Turtle? –
"Yeah, certainly," I replied softly. Tilting my head, I considered. "How many Twig Turtles do you recommend I make a contract with, system?"
-All of them. This system advises you to use all your remaining spirit contracts to "capture" all the Twig Turtles here. –
"Very well, let's do that then."
A few minutes later, the deed was done, and I had teleported them back to my dungeon. Before I could follow them, Hammond had one more surprise in store for me.
"Follow me. I said I'll show you how, didn't I?"
"Hmm? Yeah."
He led me to his hut, which happened to be the one closest to the forest in Springwood. As I entered, I saw that it was an alchemical lab of some sort. Rustic and wooden, but still filled with esoteric equipment and sophisticated devices.
"I believe you can make good use of these." Hammond wandered to his lab desk before producing two different fossils. They were mostly rock, but I could see deep imprints within them, resembling appendages or something from a long dead spirit beast. One resembled a huge jaw, and the other was a very familiar claw.
"Fossils?"
"Yes. A jaw fossil and a claw fossil, to be more precise." Hammond placed them in my hands while I was staring at them, astonished. He grinned. "They have been resonating ever since you came, and I noticed that their mana was mostly directed toward you. I don't know why, but I believe that it's fate that you came here, and they have some sort of connection to you. I am confident you will know what to do with them."
"Is it…really okay?"
"Yeah." Hammond nodded firmly. "I have plenty more fossils that I excavated from the deep earth at the base of Yggdrasil, and elsewhere. There are elf adventurers who explore other regions and dig up more of these fossils, and they send me a lot on a regular basis. I need to clear my shelf for space. Besides, I've already studied these two and subjected them to all sorts of examination, so I don't think any further study of them would reveal anything. Rather, I think they have another purpose other than research." His grin widened. "I think you know what I'm talking about."
It was almost uncanny how he could guess accurately what was going on with my system. Was he linked to my system somehow? As I expected, the system kept mum and didn't reply to that inquiry.
"Thank you very much," I said awkwardly, bowing my head before returning my scrutiny to the fossils in my hands. They weighed a ton, but I could feel the ancient mana leaking out from them. They weren't living exactly, but there was tremendous potential untapped within them, just waiting for me to awaken them. I swallowed and lowered my head humbly. "I'll do my best to not squander the gifts you've bestowed upon me."
"Oh, I know you won't." Hammond guffawed as he placed a hand on my shoulder. "In fact, I'm confident you'll bring these treasures to unprecedented heights."