“All clear!” When I heard the shout from Mason, my body relaxed. Behind him, the rest of his squad followed. We had done it. The only question was how many had been sent to respawn. Even if only Mason and his squad had survived, it would be worth it in the end. Not because of the quest rewards, but because of the treasures inside the glade.

I immediately grabbed my cart, and said to the others, “Quickly, we only have twenty-four hours before everything inside the glade wilts because of the death of the boss.”

They followed my command, and soon we had all entered the magic portal to the pocket dimension that contained the glade. The path to the glade felt more like walking along a corridor than walking through the forest. The canopies were full and overbearing, not letting but the tiniest slivers of light through. The bushes grew tall and dense between the trees, almost forming impenetrable walls.

When we stepped into the glade itself, a sorry sight met us. Of the twenty people that went in, only eight were still alive. Besides Mason and his four party members, only Ed, Marion, and Alistair were alive. I was surprised to see that the new healer on Ed’s team had survived, and not Michael, the older healer on the team and Nise’s father.

“Pyrrhic victory,” Ed grumbled in lieu of a greeting. He was sitting in the middle of the clearing, meditating. “Even with your warning, we underestimated how strong it was. Without those poisons you made, it would have been impossible for us to do this.”

“It might seem like a pyrrhic victory, but in my eyes, it’s a great victory,” I said, placing a hand on his shoulder. “You’ve to remember that over half the members of the expedition are under level twenty. That you could get it done with this is an amazing feat. Did you pick up the sapling?”

He shook his head. “Yeah, the sapling dropped when I looted the boss, no other loot except the monster core. We should have been more careful, we slacked a bit because the danger was not that high in the first minute, but when suddenly it managed to grab three of Mason’s guys, we were unable to keep up with it for a moment. You had warned us against getting too close to the tree, but we did it anyway.”

“Don’t worry about it,” I said. “We’re coming out ahead. Even if the rewards from the quest provide less XP than some of them lost, the upgrade point counts for a lot. More important, see all those trees at the edge of the glade, but not behind the bramble walls?”

“Yes.”

“Every single one of those trees is of uncommon or sparse rarity, which means we’ll be able to provide better weapons and shields for a lot of you soon,” I said. Silently I added, ‘More importantly, it’ll help us build a much stronger village and ships.’

“I guess that’s something,” he replied. Even though he had gone up against difficult odds and won a nearly impossible fight, he was still not satisfied.

I turned my attention to the people behind me. “Okay, listen up. The trees will be handled by Phil and Philmore, they got the highest level in Logging. However, the trees are all high level because of the rarity, so they won’t be able to completely chop down everything. Mason, assign two of your guys to help with the trees. I don’t know which of you has the highest Logging skill.”

“We’ll see to it,” Mason replied. Two of his party members stepped over to join the Phils.

“Good. Phil, let them handle the lowest level trees there are,” I ordered. “Okay, next there are a lot of flowers, herbs, fungi, and more. All pickable with Herbalism. Mia will pick everything of below average quality. Mason, I need another two guys to pick everything of poor and very poor quality. While we might not end up using it, it’s good XP and more importantly, worth some coin.”

He gave a nod and the last two of his party members joined Mia. “What about the two of us?”

“We’ll be mining, my skill is probably worse than yours,” I said, and pointed to some of the boulders. “Those are actually mining nodes. There’s only twelve of them, and they’re of uncommon rarity.”

“Well, I guess we got our orders,” he replied with a smile. “Six each?”

“Yup, then we’ll join the herbalists,” I said with a smile.

“What’s your Mining skill?”

“Only two,” I replied.

“Oh.” He sounded almost disappointed. “I thought it would be more.”

“Not had a lot of time to go into the warrens, so haven’t really used the skill a lot. What’s your level at?” I asked.

“It’s already at five, so I guess I’ll finish first,” he answered with a cheeky smile.

“Don’t be so certain about that, I do have a few levels on you, and a strength score of thirty,” was my come back. He gulped at that. I just laughed and found my pick before heading to the first of the boulders I was going to demolish.

I did not tell them about the second and third glade. They would see that when we had emptied the first glade of all resources. When that happened, a section of brambles would wither away, making an opening to the second glade. With our low levels, I was uncertain we would be able to empty the second glade and get access to the third.

We had slaved away for a long time, only logging out for a single game hour to grab some food, before we had logged back in, to finish emptying the glade. The second glade was massive, and unfortunately, we did not manage to empty it completely.

When the twenty-four hours were up we were forcefully expelled from the pocket dimension, finding ourselves standing in the forest, just outside our camp. The players who had been killed in the battle had in the meantime made their way back. While I was certain we could beat DLA in most fights, there was always a chance that they would win.

If Ed got killed before we got back to the Lord’s manor and handed over the sapling, it would be guaranteed to drop. If someone not a member of the expedition picked it up, I would fail the quest, and the quest would be transferred to that person. Without the rewards for the expedition members.

The harvest had been huge. However, due to a lack of time and an abundance of resources, I had decided to pick up Logging as my 19th skill. It might have seemed a bit wasteful, but I had planned on picking it up sooner or later anyway. It would harmonize well with my overall plan for the firbolg racial ability I would pick during my evolution to a high human.

The racial ability I was thinking about picking, which was called Solitary Crafter. It would add a cumulative 5% to crafting points of a material, per step in the process, including the final product that was performed by myself. If I baked a loaf of bread with average quality materials that I bought after gaining this ability, instead of 75 crafting points the bread would have 79. Not a huge increase.

However, if the flour I used was milled by myself from wheat that I had harvested, grown, and even made the seed for myself, it would add a lot of extra steps. Turning something into seeds would be the first step, growing it would be the second, harvesting the third, and milling it the fourth. Baking the bread would be the fifth. A cumulative increase of 25%. Instead of 79 CPs, the bread would have 94. If someone else harvested the wheat for me, I would only get the bonus for the milling and baking of the bread, for a total of 10% increase.

However, all that was only with low-quality materials where I had only enhanced one of the ingredients. The more steps I performed myself in a row and the higher the quality, the more crafting points. It would be even better if you could make all the ingredients going into the final product yourself. And when I became a full high human, the ability would upgrade from 5% to 10% per step. While a full firbolg would have 15%.

Normally a firbolg crafter would be forced to pick up the opposite of the ability at some point, which would diminish the amount of crafting points if he used something made by another crafter in his crafting process.

All of that was for the future though. I was still far off from getting to that point, instead, it was time to concentrate on here and now. We were gathered in the camp, busy transforming some of all our harvest into seeds, otherwise, we could not bring everything back with us.

While meditating, I turned to Robin. “How’s the situation in Blackport?”

She frowned. “As expected, the DLA is harassing our new members as much as possible. We need to get back there and stabilize the situation as quickly as possible. We need to use our high-level parties to shield our new members, so they can grind in peace.”

Ed interjected, “That’ll hamper our overall progress. A high-level character is worth more than a bunch of low-levelled ones.”

“But if we leave them to die at the hands at DLA, they’ll never get to level up, and it’ll be bad for morale,” Robin countered.

“If we don’t keep levelling up, it’ll be bad for morale when they kick all of our asses and not just the lowbies,” Ed pointed out.

“Guys, stop arguing,” I said a bit irritatedly. “You’re both right.”

“We can’t both be right,” Ed protested.

Robin nodded. “What he said.”

“You’re not right about the solution, you’re right about the problem,” I said with a groan. “If we leave the lowbies to themselves, they’ll lose morale. If we don’t help the high-levelled players level up further, they’ll lose morale, and DLA will catch up to us.”

“We know what the problem is,” Robin said with a pout. “So what are we going to do about it?”

“That’s easy,” I replied. “We’re going to leave.”

They both looked at me like I had grown a second and third head. Simultaneously, they exclaimed, “Leave?”

“Yup.”

“Okay, I’ll bite, since you’re being annoyingly mysterious again,” Ed said with a sigh. “Where are we going to go then?”

“To build our village of course.”

Robin sighed. “You’re being light on the details again.”

“Okay, so the spot I want to build the village is in a territory where you’ll find a lot of level forty to fifty mobs, including some uncommon and sparse ones,” I started explaining.

“How does that help our lowbies?” Ed interjected.

I gave him an annoyed look. “Let me finish explaining.”

“Sorry, go on.”

“Thanks,” I said, voice dripping with sarcasm. “We’ll need to build a lift like the one they got in Blackport. There’s a beach below the cliff that’ll be perfect for a shipyard. Also, the entire beach sits behind a coral reef, which creates a natural barrier with only a single way in and out for ships.”

“Sounds nice, but what about the lowbies?” Robin asked.

I gave her an irritated look, but continued my explanation, “Except for fluke incidents where a high level mob makes its way into the area, the mobs are fairly low-levelled. On the beach, they’re level three to five. Within the reef, there’ll be mobs up to level twentyish.”

“So we could position Rochelle and Benny’s squads to take care of the high-level critters, and let the new lowbies handle the rest,” Ed said. “Sounds like an idea.”

“There’s just one problem,” I said before he could get too excited. “We need a few days to put everything together. So you will have to put your level grinding on hold for a couple of days.”

“Why a few days?” Robin asked.

“Because we need a new guild house first.”

“What’s wrong with the old one?” Ed wondered out loud.

“It’s made for shitty materials and doesn’t suit our needs any longer,” I pointed out.

Robin looked confused. “I get the first part, but what about our needs have changed?”

“If we’re building a village, we’ll not spend a lot of time in Blackport. It would at most be a place for people to log out while passing through Blackport,” I explained. “We should instead turn it into a shop. Some of the new crafters I hired would be stationed here permanently, running a shop slash eatery.”

“Are we just going to leave them here alone?” Robin queried.

“I expect Kira and Benny’s parties would like to duke it out a lot with the DLA. It’s a way for them to increase their party level,” I said. “So the ground floor will be commercial, the basement will be used for storage, and the upper floor is going to be sleeping and a meeting area.”

“There won’t be room for both a shop and a restaurant,” Robin pointed out.

“Sure there will, we don’t really need to use half the property for growing crops. That means the building will more than double in size. We’ll have plenty of space for everyone then.”

“Okay, but how long is that going to take to build?” Ed asked.

I had to think about it for a moment, before replying, “Probably five days or so. We have most of the materials already. Better make it a week.”

“Then it’s almost time to get the new bunch of recruits, that’ll delay our departure even more,” Ed grumpily complained.

I cocked my head. “Why would that be a problem? A day or two earlier in the real world will not make much of a difference. The timetable we’re operating on was set up by us, it would not be a problem to move ahead a bit early. Even without the guild points from this quest, we can still accommodate the next batch of recruits, already.”

“I think we have a plan then,” Robin ventured.

Ed nodded reluctantly. I gave a smile, before saying, “Indeed we do. Robin, I’m going to give you a route for you to explore, while we’re building the new guild house in Blackport. We need to level your party up a bit, I’m almost certain no one else will have gone out that far. However, the levels of creatures will be pretty high, it’ll be a good way to train your stealth skills.”

“Okay, is it the route to where our village will be?”

“Yes. I can’t really remember if there are any hazards along the way, so we need our explorers to find out.”

She gave a small smile. “Sounds fun.”

When we got back to Blackport, it was already late, almost getting dark. To prevent falling into an ambush, we took the scenic route. When Robin and the other who had died in the fight against the boss, they had gone north to get back to us. They had made sure they were not followed after reaching the forest, however, they were certain that the DLA had followed them until then.

They would most likely be keeping an eye out on the northern side of Blackport, so we looped around and went far to the west, before going south. We then approached Blackport from the west, while Kira’s squad was making noise and trouble around the northern gate.

We did not slip into Blackport unnoticed, there were still some Doom Jesters and Highlander Gang members hanging around to the west, killing low-level rabbits. They themselves were fairly low-levelled, so they did not stand a chance against the might of nine level 30 to 40 players. The two scores of enemy combatants were killed in less than a minute. Ed’s elementals were doing the most damage when they exploded, since they were summoned with the help of the large manastones Phil had made for Ed.

We made our way to the Lord’s manor immediately, the rest of the guild meeting us there as well. When I approached the door with Ed, one of the guards informed us, “The manor is closed for the day, come back tomorrow morning.”

“I’m here to complete a quest on behalf of the Lord,” I said with a frown.

“I already said, come back tomorrow.”

“The Senechal personally—” I started.

The guard took a step forward. “I said come back tomorrow.”

That did it. At the top of my lungs, I shouted, “Seneschal Henstal, is this the way to treat a friend of the Lord? We risk our lives and levels to complete a quest, and when we come here to deliver the requested item, we’re sent away, like beggars?”

“Listen here, I don’t care about your status, you’re under arrest for disturbing the peace,” the guard said and grabbed my arm. Immediately over sixty players between level 2 and 40 drew their weapons.

The guard paled. I was not liking how the situation was unfurling either. This was bad. What I did not understand was why he was being so obstinate. With my reputation with the guards, I should not be treated like that. At least he should have listened to my request before turning me away. He was also able to see that my reputation with Blackport in general was high, including with the Lord.

Suddenly the door opened and revealed Old Milly. A frown plastered on her face. “What is going on here?”

The guard that was grabbing my arm started to tremble, the other guard gulped and answered, “Milady, Corporal Ash was sending away some intruders. Then they drew weapons on us.”

“Damian, what do you have to say for yourself?” she immediately asked with narrowed eyes. The guard holding my arm released it and took a step back. He was still shaking like a leaf in a storm.

“We know it’s late, but we’re bringing the sapling of the Black Windroot at Henstal’s request, it’s an important matter we did not feel could wait,” I explained. The guards both gulped at hearing that. “However, they would not let us explain, or even pass a message. Instead, this idiot here arrested me for disturbing the peace. My guild members took exception to this.”

“Corporal Ash, please explain yourself.” Old Milly’s words were mild, yet her tone was so frosty it sent chills down my spine, and I was not the recipient of her ire.

“Uhm—Milady, you see, eh—that is to, uhm, eh—” he hemmed and hawed.

“Get to the point,” she said impatiently. Seeing that the corporal was a stuttering mess, she turned to the other guard. “Private Elmsworth, do you have anything to say?”

“Milady,” he gulped and fell to his knees. He then closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “Members of Team Asura approached us, paying us money to hassle and cause trouble in a legal way for the Blue Lotus guild. Forgive us.”

“I’ve known you your whole life, your grandmother would be deeply ashamed if she could see you now,” Old Milly said, her voice dripping with disappointment. “Your mother will be too embarrassed to leave her house. What about your wife and children?”

“I—I am sorry, Milady!” the private cried.

Old Milly turned to the corporal who was still quivering in his boots. As soon as she looked at him, he fainted. Old Milly harrumphed. Her mastery of Message must have been high, because I did not hear her say anything, nor did the ball appear for more than a second before vanishing. Normally they would travel through the air, but when it got to master tier or higher, they would teleport to the recipient immediately.

She looked at me. “I’ll retrieve the sapling in Henstal’s place.”

I motioned for Ed to hand it to her, and he did, as soon as she had the sapling in her hands, I got a prompt. From the cheers behind me, I was not the only one that got one.

Quest Completed

Ancestral Roots

Reward

136 reputation points with the Lord of Blackport

10 platinum coins

50,000 free XP

500 Guild Points

1 Upgrade Point

1 Spriggan essence crystal

“Ding, ding, ding!” Mason shouted at the top of his lungs. Making several of the members break out in laughter. The rewards I myself got were indeed good. The essence crystal, in particular, was very important to me. Three down and six to go, before I could take the first step to evolve into a high human. Technically, four down, with the blank crystal.

“Ding!” Robin and Marion exclaimed simultaneously a moment later. Making the cheering rise even more.

“My apologies, Milady,” I said quickly. “They’re just happy that we succeeded. It was a very tough job to get our hand on the sapling. Unfortunately, it seems that your pocket realm for the glade has been corrupted by the Rifts.”

She sighed. “It is as we feared, we thank you for bringing back the sapling.”

From behind us, we heard the thunder of boots hitting the cobblestones in sync, the rustling of metal armour. Looking over my shoulder, I saw a group of around a dozen imperial soldiers heading towards us.

“They’ll take care of rooting out the corruption in our guards rank,” Old Milly said with a sad look. “However, this Team Asura could easily escape justice by fleeing. So I offer a quest to capture them and bring them to justice. If you want it, approach.”

Most of our members immediately surged forward and got the quest. I did not know what the rewards were, but in cases like this, they would usually be pretty high. Whenever someone broke the law enough for the NPCs to issue a quest for their capture, it would bring a lot of XP and reputation points.

By the excitement I heard from the members who had gotten the quest, I was glad I was not Team Asura. They would be a hunted existent. Could not happen to a nicer bunch.