Alz slowly lifted his heavy eyelids as the fog in his mind began to clear. The light from above was brightening ever so slightly, indicating the rise of a new day.

He would usually go to the library on his rest days, but the workshop was finally completed, so he was planning on making some of the crossbows ahead of schedule.

After learning more about the state of affairs within the capital, he felt a stronger urgency towards this task. Alz hadn't spoken to the tribe about it yet, but he was also intending to double the rate of release to four crossbows a month instead of the original two as well.

While this was partly because he wanted them to have better weapons to guard themselves, another major reason behind this sudden change was also because he wanted to prepare himself to leave earlier.

Given all that they had done for him, he didn't want to let down any of their expectations, but he also didn't plan to stay for too long as he was afraid of being pulled into the muddied waters.

With this in mind, he lightly exercised his body to rid himself of the grogginess and headed off to the workshop where the materials he prepared before were, and where his tools were located.

After a short walk, he soon arrived at the station which he had constructed just for this. This was also one of the new additions to the workshop, something he didn't have back in his old workshop.

After all, he only had to make them for himself back then and the time and effort used to build this station would have been better spent on constructing the crossbow itself by far.

However, things were different now, as he had to mass produce them now, which was why he didn't hesitate at all when he made the decision to build it.

At one glance, the workstation had a simple design, consisting of a simple wooden chair with mud table located before it. Yet, upon careful inspection, the effort behind its construction slowly began to show as more details were discovered.

For starters, the chair had a backrest, something that was not usually found on most of the stools found among their race. In addition, there were pieces of leather padding the backrest and the seat, providing more comfort to the user.

As for the table, there was nothing really worth noting about its appearance apart from it being made out of hardened mud. However, astute elves would notice one small detail about this table which was different, its exceedingly flat and even surface.

There was also a small shelf on one side of the chair, within a hand's reach from the chair. On the shelf, there various tools and measurement references that Alz had personally crafted. This was the workstation Alz had made, to prepare himself for the long hours of work that awaited him.

The design concept was simple, abiding by three primary factors he thought were most important. Comfort, Precise and Convenient. Driven by these motivations, he went through painstaking efforts and eventually constructed this, a station he was very satisfied with.

Among the pieces, while the chair took the most effort, it didn't take the most time as he had kept the deer leather from the feast two weeks ago, so it didn't end up being too much of a hassle.

The most time-consuming portion of the setup was actually polishing the table's surface and making sure that it was even, taking several hours of hard work to complete. That said, Alz didn't dare slack off with it as this work would eventually go a long way in his stay.

Alz went to the wood shed beside it to collect a few pieces of wood before taking his seat on the lone chair of the workstation. He lightly caressed the fruits of his effort before directing a focused look on the table, beginning his work.

As always, Alz fell into a trance-like state soon after he started, dedicating his mind to the task before him. Time seemed to flow at a different pace around Alz, as he patiently carved and assembled each part with utmost focus.

After what felt like a moment yet an eternity, Alz's hands finally stopped, for there were no more materials left on the table. The shine in his eyes began to return as his mind began to process the details around him, stepping out of his previous state.

His eyes quickly glanced across the table, forming a joyful smile lit on his face as he saw the six finished crossbows and several parts of a seventh before him. This was more progress than he had intended on making, a great result that had exceeded his expectations.

However, his smile lasted for but a feeling moment before it was replaced by a grimace as a surge of weakness coursed through his body. The fatigue had finally begun to set in, and he now needed to bear the full brunt of it.

Dizziness assaulted his mind, pain flared across his arms, his throat was dry, and his stomach was protesting in pain. Each of these would have been bad enough alone, and they were hitting him all at once now.

A painful groan escaped his lips as he tried to stand up, but he immediately lost control of his legs and fell back to the chair. Alz looked down at his body with a bitter smile, lightly exercising his legs before attempting to stand again, this time with support from the table.

"How long was I out for...?”

His eyes returned to the table trying to recall how much time had elapsed, but it felt like there was a layer of mist shrouding his memories, preventing him from making an accurate judgement.

Alz sighed lightly and headed off towards the field, not bothering to think too much about it. This was a sensation he was familiar with, and he knew that nothing would come out from pushing his mind further.

This was something that would happen to him even before the trials. It had manifested slightly during his mental tests in the library but had become much more apparent in the five years spent at the archives, a talent that he possessed.

While it caused him some trouble occasionally, such as at this very moment, Alz was still very thankful for this gift, as it often allowed him to achieve more than he expected, at the slight cost of some discomfort after.

Along the way, he took a minor detour to one of the berry bushes to provide some relief to his throat and stomach before he continued making his way back to the field, where he quickly fell into a deep slumber.

When Alz woke up, he saw that the skies were still dark. After thinking for a short while, he decided on his plans and headed back towards the workshop.

Had the skies been lit, Alz would have dropped by the library for some reading and to regain his grasp of the time, but the library was approaching its closing time now so there would be little meaning in heading there.

There was also no real need for him to keep track of the days too tightly, as there was still much time before he needed to do his compulsory duty.

Hence, he decided to do some hunting with the newly constructed crossbows to test their performance. After all, it was only on the field where he could truly test for the imperfections and correct them after.

Needless to say, with the lack of aggressive animals, the hunting proceeded extremely smoothly. Alz easily managed to hunt some animals during the performance tests, replenishing his supply of food at the same time.

He brought most of the meat to the smokehouse for preservation before heading back to the fireplace where he filled his stomach.

"I guess I'll head to the library."

Alz glanced at the illuminating sky while chewing on a skewer of meat, casually deciding on his next destination. These were carefree days where there was still little to worry about, days that he hoped would remain for the rest of his stay.

Perhaps he had been wishing hard enough, as these days continued on for the next three months. Everything thus far had proceeded smoothly, and he had distributed the first three batches of crossbow to the tribe, marking the third month of his stay.

However, this also meant that his cycle would be disrupted for the first time since he settled down. Alz was heading out for his first duty today, the first time he would take on the responsibilities of being a guard at the capital.

Alz had heard that it was a simple patrolling duty from the others, so he wasn't feeling too concerned about it. After all, with the wealth of hunting experience under his belt, what could even go wrong?