After the little chat from Hammond, I returned to the accommodation where my friends were still sleeping inside. Before that, though, I asked nervously if giving me the fossils was really all right.
"I mean, I should pay for them at least…"
"No, not at all." Hammond grinned. "This is your reward for helping us against the demonic mage and his saurian spirit beasts yesterday. I'll make sure to reward the rest of your companions appropriately, so don't feel guilty in accepting these fossils. And I have a feeling they will eventually become assets in fighting the demonic mages and whatever sinister schemes they are implementing."
"R…right."
And so I returned to Myria and the others, who were only just waking up.
"I'm going to drop by my dungeon for a moment to check on my new spirit beasts," I informed her, and she nodded in understanding.
"Sure. Take your time. I'll let the others know."
"We'll follow you!" Silvia raised her hand excitedly. "I can't wait to see what new spirit beasts you have added to your collection! I sensed an influx of Twig Turtles earlier this morning!"
"Can I come along too?" Sylvie asked. I nodded and placed my hands on their shoulders.
"Yeah, let's go!"
And with a flash, we teleported directly into the Deep Sea Palace, where Long Wang was waiting patiently for our arrival.
"My lord," he said in greeting, his head lowered. "I have been expecting you."
"Thanks, and sorry to keep you waiting. How are the new arrivals?"
"They are doing fine." Long Wang straightened and cocked his head. "Still, I must admit that I am amazed that you obtained a hundred spirit beasts in just two days. First, the Mud Fishes from yesterday, and now the Twig Turtles? Fifty of each. I have allocated them spaces in the ghost forest, and the Tree Revenants, Pumpkin Wraiths, Phantom Stumps and Ghost Pumpkins have taken charge of making them feel at home. The overall command goes to the Elder Tree Revenant, of course. I'm sure he'll know how to take care of the newcomers better than me."
"Still, I appreciate your help. I'm going to check on them too." I went to the ghost forest, where the Mud Fishes were frolicking about in the rivers and lakes that wound through the vegetation and trees. Further away, the newly arrived Twig Turtles were communicating with the Phantom Stumps and Ghost Pumpkins. I went over to greet both groups.
"Hello, guys! I hope you like your new homes!"
Both the Mud Fishes and the Twig Turtles responded positively, looking happy to see me. They had detected the dense qi that emanated from the budding World Tree that served as the dungeon core for this part of my dungeon. Not only was this a familiar environment that allowed them to fell right at home, they also knew they could grow here. And better still, without any danger. While that might be counterintuitive to some people who insisted on the "strong eat the weak" rhetoric where the weakest were weeded out and the strongest had to earn their survival, what these edgelords failed to mention was that luck always played a major role in such things.
Just by being in the wrong place at the wrong time, even a genius might be killed before he had the opportunity to develop to his full potential. And sometimes, it was the creatures who knew how best to flee rather than fight who survived, rather than the "strongest." It wasn't as simple as the weak got weeded out or whatever. And if you really wanted to claim that luck was part of strength, then count these Mud Fishes and Twig Turtles as lucky because they had the fortune to encounter me.
"Excellent. Work hard and enjoy your lives here. I will be relying on you guys for help in future. Mud Fishes, you'll probably work with the Collector Crabs and Construction Crabs in exploring. Twig Turtles, you will most likely end up as combatants."
They didn't have a problem with it, and were in fact eager to see how far they could grow and develop, though they were also simultaneously happy about the safe environment where they didn't have to worry about threats and dangers. It sounded contradictory, but just think about it as them embracing the opportunity to safely grow and develop their abilities to the maximum before they ventured out into actual battlefields to test themselves.
Eventually, the Elder Tree Revenant will dispatch them on appropriate missions in the Celestial Labyrinth for them to gain experience, but I would leave that to him. For now, I checked on the Flourishing Forest spirit array to ensure that the qi was still being circulated around and maximized to its full potential.
"Great."
"They look really cute!" Silvia said, bending her knees and crouching to pat the heads of the happy Twig Turtles. Sylvie followed her example, stroking their heads, but she also ventured over to the Mud Fishes to socialize with them.
"You are having a larger variety of spirit beasts in your dungeon, Jun Wen," she said, turning to me. "Are you focusing on developing the forest aspect of your dungeon for now?"
"That's right," I affirmed with a shrug. "I don't think I'll have the opportunity to add more marine type spirit beasts, but I think my Mud Fishes will serve as a good bridge between the aquatic spirit beasts and the wood ones. They are water type."
"I wonder what they will evolve to." Sylvie looked thoughtful. I shook my head.
"Honestly, I'm not sure either. I guess it's something to look forward to."
"Yeah!" Silvia cheered. "I can't wait!"
I also set up the spirit beast booster spirit arrays that the system rewarded me with after I had completed a mission. That also encouraged further growth and sped up the spirit beasts' development. I couldn't wait to see what effects they would have on the Mud Fishes and Twig Turtles. Already, I had seen the positive effects on the Phantom Stumps and Ghost Pumpkins, many of whom had evolved into Tree Revenants and Pumpkin Wraiths.
I wondered what the Mud Fishes would evolve into. I knew the Twig Turtles would probably evolve into Grove Turtles before eventually becoming Terra Tortoises, and I was looking forward to that. They would be a great addition to my list of summoned spirit beasts, and come to think of it, I didn't have any spirit beasts with the earth element. The Terra Tortoises would be a welcome addition thanks to their ability to manipulate the earth element, cause earthquakes and other earth-based attacks.
Now that was done, I returned to the palace portion of my dungeon. It was odd that I had named my dungeon the Deep Sea Palace when only one small area was actually a palace. The rest were pure wilderness, either deep sea caverns or a continually expanding forest.
I stared at the former Ancient Aquatic Artifact that now served as the dungeon core for my Deep-Sea Palace portion of my dungeon. I had yet to feed the Flood Dragon Dungeon core to it because I wanted to upgrade both dungeon cores at the same time instead of the Ancient Aquatic Artifact first. Otherwise, I would have an uneven upgrade that might mess things up. For now, it didn't seem like much had changed, and I was glad for the massive expansion of my dungeon territory in the wake of the victory over the Flood Dragon Dungeon. If it wasn't for the addition of new territory, I might not have space for my new batch of Mud Fishes and Twig Turtles.
That was when I caught sight of the new machinery that had appeared near the former Ancient Aquatic Artifact. As I approached it, I recognized it immediately. As promised, the system had rewarded me with the Fossil Restoration Device. At first glance, it looked like a computer console, but there was a huge glass cylindric segment at the bottom that was filled with amniotic fluids. Cables dangled from it, connecting to the aquatic dungeon core to receive some power from it, while the monitor glowed softly. Not only that, there were arcane runes inscribed into the metallic surface of the device.
"What's that?" Sylvie asked curiously. I smiled.
"You'll see."
Striding over, I put the claw fossil inside the glass cylinder and watched it float in the amniotic fluids. The monitor switched on, displaying an inquiring window.
-Would you like to restore the claw fossil? –
"Yeah."
There was a whirr before a bright flash momentarily blinded us. I blinked, and then saw a Sea Scorpion drifting in the fluid. There was a click as the Fossil Restoration Device drained away the fluid and the glass doors opened for the sleeping Sea Scorpion to slide out. I caught it before it could fall to the ground.
-Congratulations! You have obtained a Sea Scorpion. Would you like to give him a name? –
-Sea Scorpion. Rank: Ordinary. Elemental Affinity: Water, Rock. Nature: Tenacious and carefree. Gender: male. –
"Xiao Zhao," I said without any hesitation. I gently placed him on a table in the Deep Sea Palace and allowed him to slumber for a moment longer. Then I returned to the machine. This time, I put the jaw fossil inside the glass cylinder and waited for a repeat of the previous events.
Instead of a Sea Scorpion, I saw a Raptor Rex floating inside the glass cylinder. Once again, the fluids drained out before the transparent doors slid open to eject the sleeping spirit beast. Once more, I caught it before it could hit the floor, and then I carried it over to the table to place him next to the Sea Scorpion.
-Congratulations! You have obtained a Raptor Rex. –
-Raptor Rex. Rank: Ordinary. Elemental Affinity: Dragon, Rock. Nature: Confident and steadfast. Gender: male. Would you like to give him a name? –
"Xiao Wang," I replied.
"Really?"
Long Wang gave me an annoyed look, and I shrugged. "Sorry, I'm not very creative with names."
"Well, it suits him," Sylvie said diplomatically. I smiled at her gratefully before turning back to the two newly revived fossils. They eventually woke up and stared at me, one nervous and the other defiant. Nonetheless, they warmed up to me when I approached them and patted their heads. Xiao Zhao had a sturdy shell, while Xiao Wang's head was rock-hard.
"Excellent. Make sure to listen to your seniors, because they have more experience than you. The Phantom Stumps and Ghost Pumpkins are still your seniors, and I don't have to say much about the Tree Revenants and Pumpkin Wraiths, as well as the Elder Tree Revenant. Oh, Xiao Zhao, you'll most likely be learning from the crabs – the Colossal Crabs and King Crab, but even the Construction Crabs and Collector Crabs are your seniors until you eventually evolve. Work hard, grow as best as you can, and become strong! We'll counting on you to help out in the future."
They both voiced their compliance. I gave them a pat and turned back to the fairy sisters, who were admiring the newly revived fossils.
"I didn't think you had something like that, big bro!" Silvia pointed at the Fossil Restoration Device. I scratched my head awkwardly.
"Yeah, neither did I." The system truly worked in mysterious ways. I wondered if this was a one-off thing or if I would have the opportunity to use the machine again in the future. For now, though, I had to return to the present. Myria and the others were waiting for us, and the elvish enclaves in Yggdrasil were in desperate need of help. I would worry about collecting more fossils in the future. "Let's head back to Springwood before Eliza realizes we are gone and starts panicking."
"Hah! She really needs to relax."
"Silvia! Be more sensitive. Her people are in trouble. It's only natural that she will be anxious!"
I snickered as the fairy sisters argued before waving goodbye to Long Wang and my spirit beasts and teleporting us three back to Yggdrasil.