Spending (probably) a couple more hours creating spears and javelins (for the javelins we simply sharpened both points of the staffs we gathered, since they can be used by throwing) and finally managed to equip the team of twenty hunters with one dagger, one spear and five javelins as a bare minimum. Why I had them carry the javelins in such big numbers? Well, because we’re talking about mana enforced animals and we're using throwing sticks to hunt them... Even if the branches have also been enforced by mana, I’m not entirely sure they can be used properly and most of them will likely break. There’s that and the fact that they can use them and some vines to tie the game they catch to carry it back home, since there’s no other way to do it.

After that, we sent them on their way to hunt while myself and the other scouts gathered some other stones that I thought will be useful in creating other tools such as hammers, axes, bigger knives and some stone slabs that even later on, could be used as molds for casting proper weapons. That’s in the future where we can actually mine minerals and melt them though…

As soon as that was finished (and by that I mean dumping all the stones we found into a pile since I couldn't just drag all of them home), I took the elves and explored the area about 500 meters away from the clearing and rotated around it. We obviously found the three dungeons which looked like huge out of place caves, but we didn’t venture into checking them out since they were a couple of kilometers away from our location. What kind of scared me was that even though this was a forest, there was a clear straight path free of any trees, which made their way until the entry of the dungeon. I was certain that if one was to look from above, this round forest surrounding the World Tree would be split into three pies, out of which the one down South was the biggest one.

There were multiple plants and animals that we found along the way and even a wolf den which raised my awareness of the surroundings. I marked the spot where we found them mentally and made a note of actually trying to tame them later on. Also, wild pigs, some wild goats and some wild deer, each with their territories were marked as well. If I could learn to rear these animals fast, there could be an unending supply of food for the years to come. But that implies building pigsties and other similar constructions, which are not yet available in the Civilization menu.

“I wonder if I could build them in advance relying on my own knowledge. I mean, it’s a pigsty for the love of Reaper! How hard can it be to build one?”

With such thoughts, I kept searching for wild fruits to create an orchard and other wild vegetables from which I could obtain seeds to plant in the future farms.

“Speaking of farmland, I will require to reclaim some of that as soon as possible and for the things like grain… well I’ll just hope Mia can help me in finding some, or something else that can replace it.”

The elves in the scouting group were all quiet and reserved, so there wasn’t much conversation beside pointers I gave them from time to time and directions about how to use the knives - I can say we bonded quite nicely. Oh, each of us scouts only has one javelin and on our way back I proposed a hunting contest. Out of the nine of them, there were 4 girls and 5 guys, so it was quite balanced. However, to my surprise, there wasn’t much of a difference in the accuracy or strength they showed, even if they were quite pumped up for the small game we played.

Anyway, by the point where we returned we caught only about two small rabbits, three pheasants and one deer. The deer was superbly impaled by one of the guys from quite a distance, feat which impressed two of the ladies that didn’t catch anything so far. I made a mental note that for the first couple to be sat together in one Elvish Hut, should be these three and in order to make it easier at that time to force them together I actually separated the unit in one girl one guy and this one dude I had him assigned with the two girls, saying that it was in order for them to learn from him. Quite resourceful from my part if I may add.

“Okay guys! We still have about an hour or so before returning, so I’ll teach you one of the most important things about hunting. Draining the blood! Alexandra and the hunter group already know this (because I explained the process to her in order to impress the others) and you guys must learn it as well. Given that we will have even more people to feed in the future, you guys should learn it fast and show it to the others as well. Also, I’ll teach you the skinning process as well as dismembering the carcass of the animal, in order to fully use each portion of the body, but that’s once we get back to camp.”

All those things I learned during my travels back on Earth and mostly during my stay at that one restaurant. The owner was quite particular about the ingredients he will use for customers, therefore most of them were home grown or home groomed. Because of that, I had the opportunity to learn how to slaughter, drain, skin and dismember due to him. I thought that they might be skills that will be handy into the future, however I didn’t imagine it would be in this type of conditions.

I observed the elves learning through the things I told and showed them and realized that they were literal sponges absorbing all the knowledge one could pour onto them. This is great, since there is so much to be learned in the next couple of days.

With such thoughts in mind, we arrived back at the ‘camp’, in the clearing where the elves were brought over to Midgard, right under the World Tree.

“Mia, your group returned already?”

[Yes master! After three roundtrips, I determined that the amount of food foraged was enough for two days and without storing methods, any more would be wasteful. Regarding tinder, dry grass and firewood, the piles over there should last us for a couple of days as well.](Mia)

“You call those small mountains ‘piles’? Anyway, great job Mia, I’m proud of you!”

I patted the head of the girl like I’ve done before and realized that she was no longer a child, but a young lady. I looked at her face and there was satisfaction and a trace of happiness on her face after being praised, signifying that even with the entire knowledge of Earth, she still had the emotions of a child.

I had the elves gather around and watch as the nine scouts explained under my supervision the process of slaughtering and draining the prey, after which I took over and continued the process. Mia brought some really huge-ass leaves that she planned to use as plates and bowls, however in this 'class' they became a temporary storage for the different parts of the deer, rabbits and pheasants.

I took my time in explaining everything carefully while also giving a very eye-opening example (given that I was mostly covered in blood and smiling) about how the fur can be dried and used for clothing or as carpets, rugs or even bed covers, the tendons that would be usefull for other stuff and even the feathers of the pheasants. And as soon as the demonstration ended…

Progress made in Tailoring research technology through discovery.

50 research points have been awarded! Progress made in Farming and Gathering research technology through discovery.

100 research points have been awarded!

After thinking for a second, I realized that while we have food, we don’t have a place to sleep yet.

“Mia, can you instruct the people to gather branches and leaves to create some beds between the roots of the World Tree? Oh, right! I’ll let you take care of the bed assignment in order to make sure they learn to get along better…and I almost forgot! That guy over there and the two girls by his side, make sure they get the beds even closer than the rest.”

[…understood master.](Mia)

“What’s with those eyes!? I’m doing my best here, you know…”

[…what about master’s bed?](Mia)

“I don’t think I require sleep and someone will need to stand guard. I will do that and get some other elves to rotate and do the same. What about you?”

[Surprisingly, my body became the body of an elf after being brought to Midgard and while I don’t have a Status Page probably in order for me not to interfere with the game too much, I still feel tired, hungry or thirsty. It’s a new sensation and I am curious about sleeping as well.](Mia)

“I see… that’s good I guess. You learning to behave more human-like will do you good. After you give them the instructions regarding the beds, please come back so that we can inspect the technology tree.”

[Understood master!](Mia)

I realized after the conversation with her that my body was no longer human. While we found fruits and I could taste them, there was no hunger, thirst or tiredness that would impede me on a daily basis. Probably this was a byproduct of becoming a God (which I really don’t mind by the way), however I still can’t think myself as being one. After all, this feels like a shitty snowball on the peak of a mountain slowly rolling downhill and becoming both bigger and faster as it kept heading towards the ground. I had no say in it and was just dragged along the pace of others, after being stabbed to death in a weirdly ritualistic manner.

Not to mention the voice which scolded me in the demo; I’m certain that not even Reaper was aware of it, meaning that it was outside the scope of what he could take notice of. Same thing with my pretty little killer. But that begs the question ‘what the fuck are those two, capable enough to escape the notice of a God created through the strength of all other one thousand?’…

[…master? MASTER!](Mia)

“Hmm? Sorry, I was lost there for a second. What happened? Did you tell them about the beds?”

[Master… three hours have already passed and the sun is setting… Alexandra’s hunter group just returned as well and are performing the dismembering of their catch as we speak. The meat should suffice for at least four days, however we can’t store it anywhere cold… does master have any ideas?](Mia)

“Huh!? Did I get lost in thinking so badly that three hours elapsed just like that?”

“Don’t worry, we can smoke the meat. First of all, let’s go and show them how to properly barbeque the meat. Who knows what kind of diseases you can catch in this new world…”

Using the huge piles of firewood, some broken javelins and branches full of leaves, we created a temporary ‘meat smoking room’, while I explained to them how to properly control the fire’s temperature. After doing that and explaining to them how to cook the meat they hunted varying from boar, deer, rabbit and bird, another notification popped up.

Progress made in Animal Husbandry research technology through discovery.

25 research points have been awarded! Progress made in Farming and Gathering research technology through discovery.

75 research points have been awarded!

"Probably the second one was because of Alexandra teaching them how to dismember..."

I watched Mia enjoying herself and chat with the rest of the elves while eating, after which they danced and played around the fire, sight which made them look like true faeries.

For myself, I stood a bit of a distance away from the rest while thinking about what’s the next step I should take, when I saw Alexandra walking my way with a skewered piece of succulent meat. By the way, Mia found some plants that we used as condiments and confirmed that after eating, most of the elves received upgrades in their basic attributes area.

[Here, you haven’t eaten yet, right?](Alexandra)

“Thank you. How was today?” – I asked as I took a bite

[We were able to hunt quite easier than expected and I did as you told me and focused only on the weaker looking animals in the herds we found. There were quite a few of them and I told Miss Mia about their location as well, just like you requested. Regarding the other elves… they look up to me, even if the knowledge I possess comes from you. Are you sure…](Alexandra)

“I told you before Alexandra. I am not interested in leading the people, however I will help you as much as I can to do that. Let’s not talk about that anymore, what else have you seen today?”

[Just the woods. There’s quite a huge area and it’s easier than I thought it might be to move about through all the shrubs and bushes.](Alexandra)

“That’s because of the elves as a race and the World Tree. They are closer to nature in general, while the elves are even better when in forests, making them feel at home. Who has problems moving in his own home?”

“I see… That’s good!”

Attributes increased!

Endurance +1! Strength +1!

[I have a question…](A)

“So that’s the improvement everyone was talking about. I think Eternity mentioned it as well. If only through burning the meat like this you can get this type of results, once it’s properly cooked, what kind of effects will it have?”

“Sure. What’s up?”

[Why did Miss Mia set up the beds that way? The guys and the girls are really close together and in some cases they are sleeping almost in one bed…](A)

Looking at the slightly red face of the elf under the bathing light of a beautiful sunset, I realized that I didn’t properly evaluate the level of gorgeousness this chick has yet.

Body figure: stylish! Hips: Ai mami! Breasts: I would surely love to use them as pillows!

Her face was pretty to the point where if I stared too long I might just remain like that. Plus the fact that she now carried the air of a leader… It made me remember that one time I hooked up with my boss at a part-time job. All in all...

Hehehe! Let’s tease this stylish beauty a bit…

“They have all been through a lot. Not only did they lose their homes, they are now somewhere unknown, they hold little knowledge and the future is uncertain. At times like this, company of the same sex is alright, but company of the opposite sex is more desirable. The guys will feel the need to protect, while the girls will look stability and the other way around. If couples would appear, that would be even better.”

[Wh…why’s that?](A)

“Because couples can share their worries and troubles to lessen them and also share the happiness in order to enjoy it to a higher degree. That’s how it usually works. So, if the people are happier by being together, why shouldn’t we help them from the shadows?”

[I see… how can I help?](A)

“You can help by leading by example.”

[Meaning?](A)

“You can sleep close to me if you’d like. They look up to you, so if they see you taking lead like that, the rest of the girls might be more confident in trusting the guys. I’ll also help in making sure the guys are not stupid and won’t screw this up.”

[…](A)

Looking at her seriously pondering what I just said made me feel really bad. I was half teasing, half joking, but now I was a bit interested in seeing if she’ll agree. Is not like she’s stupid and won’t understand my point, since the reason why she asked me of the beds was because she understood what I wanted to do and the results for me doing that.

[Alright…](A)

“???” - I looked confused and surprised at her

[I said alright! However, won’t Miss Mia be angry if you cheat on her with me?](A)