Rain was back in the Spirit Realm and hurriedly went to check on his troops to ensure they were all right.
He only breathed a sigh of relief when he saw them setting up traps and cooking meat over the fire.
~Chi!~
"Oh, Chi, you have returned!" Rain was glad to see her safe and sound.
Chi chirped happily, and Rain eagerly asked about her adventures to the south while he read the [Diary].
There was nothing remarkable in the entries except for his troops diligently following his orders to make traps.
However, what caught his attention was the pup. The cub was out of its cage, helping around after being fed and given water.
"Eheeheehee. I knew it would do the trick," Rain thought with a grin. Food, shelter, and the feeling of security always made animals docile.
This wasn't an animal, though, so Rain had reservations about whether giving it food and water would do the trick.
He was glad that it did, but just to be sure, he would keep his distance from the pup at first and let the cub come to him on its own accord.
If only he could give it a name, but since it wasn't part of his troop and hadn't evolved, he couldn't do anything but call it pup for now.
~Chi~
"You didn't find anything in the south except mountain ranges and the sea on the other side?" Rain acknowledge, noting this down as he looked at the map.
Sea . . . It was still a hundred kilometers south but maybe they could fish there sometimes.
Rain's eyes then bulged when he noticed something in the southeastern portion of the map.
"OH, CHI! Look at this! You've found a town!" Rain was ecstatic.
Chi raised her chin in pride and chirped happily.
"A town could mean more resources, potential allies, or even a trading post," Rain mused aloud, excitement bubbling up within him. "This could change everything for us."
Chi beamed at Rain's reaction, her ears flapping with excitement.
Rain's eyes scanned the map, and he could see the rough outline of a settlement nestled at the far Southeast side near the sea. He knew that there must be a town in here somewhere and he was right!
Rain estimated that traveling to the town and back would take two to three days on foot. Chi was faster than him, so his calculations were based on his speed.
The port town was sizable, and Rain deduced that it must be the main hub connecting the Barren Wasteland to the rest of the Spirit Realm.
As much as he wanted to go there right now, he couldn't leave his territory undefended, especially with the threat of the Hobgoblins still looming north.
"This is incredible, Chi. We need to go there. But first, we have to make sure our defenses are solid here," Rain said, his mind racing with possibilities. "If this town is inhabited, we need to approach carefully. We don't know if they're friendly or hostile."
Chi chirped.
"Oh, there are so many different races there, and it's a huge port town!" Rain's eyes twinkled even more, his excitement bubbling over.
"Alright, let's finish setting up the traps and fortify our position here. Once we're secure, we'll plan an expedition to the town," Rain instructed. "And great job, everyone. We're making progress."
As the troops went back to work, Rain couldn't help but feel a surge of hope. The discovery of the town opened up new possibilities for their survival and growth.
With renewed vigor, he joined in the efforts to fortify their territory.
When night fell, everyone gathered around the fire and cooked some meat. Rain noticed that the pup was wary of him, especially of Chi, who kept giving it a dead stare as if it was planning to roast it for dinner.
The pup was slowly getting comfortable with the others, though. Rain wondered if it would leave the nest once it became an adult Quillwolf.
On the other hand, #4 was still by the statue, never leaving it for a second with its blowdart in its beck.
"I'm just glad he's feeling a lot better after his failed evolution," Rain muttered under his breath, letting the cool air and the delicious aroma relax him.
~Chi~
Rain smiled. "Ah. We've finished setting up some traps around and fortified the barricades. We've also collected at least five kilos of salt and harvested one liter of rainwater. We've even carved out a small salt cave at the side to preserve our meat. I'd say things are finally coming around. We've come a long way from having nothing at all."
Though the meat could be stored in the inventory, it was only temporary, and over time it would get rotten, so they had to think of a way to preserve it for much longer.
~Chi!~
Thinking back, Rain really thought he couldn't accomplish all these things. But he guessed that everyone could really do it when they put their minds to it.
In just over a week in the Spirit Realm, they had come this far from nothing. He could now sustain his little troop with the basic necessities to survive.
"It's all because of you and the others, Chi. I couldn't have done it without you." Rain smiled warmly, and Chi chirped happily in response.
Now the next course of action was to develop from here into a village. After all, they couldn't live forever under these two giant rocks.
"Maybe we can find some dwarves in the town that would do some simple construction for us?" Rain muttered to himself.
He heard that was the quickest and easiest way to build your territory. A lot of players were doing it since they weren't builders and knew nothing of construction.
It would certainly cost a lot of Soul Elixirs, but Rain had saved up 20mL of Soul Elixirs. If he traded some of his EP again, he might bring that number up to 200mL of Soul Elixirs.
EP came by fast when you were a newbie since you were doing everything for the first time, and the system automatically rewarded you with 1000 EP. It got lower when you repeated the tasks multiple times. For example, carving out that small salt cave had earned Rain another 1000 EP, and discovering the Port Town earned him another 1000. Placing new traps also added another 1000.
But Rain still had to be cautious in trading his EP. Like Len said, he could cripple his territory if he didn't have any EP left to evolve his troops in the future.
It was a delicate balance that needed careful consideration and planning. He shouldn't just decide on a whim. He needed to think about this very carefully.
Rain was deep in thought when he heard something — a soft chiming of bells that made his hair stood on end.
The alarm bells had rung!